Improvement in wash ing-machin es



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES T. KING, OF NFV YORK, N. Y.

iIVIPROVEMENT IN WASHING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES T. KING, of the city of New York, county andState ot' New York, did obtain Letters Patent of the United States ofAmerica for an Improvement in \Vashing Apparatus, dated October 21,1851, reissued April 13, 1854; that I have since that date made certainimprovements on my invention to be called .T. T. King-s Alkaline SteamVashing Apparatus, for which improvement, together with the originalinvention, Letters Patent have been granted in England, dated April 6,1854; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 represents a vertical longitudinal section of the apparatus.Fig. 2 represents a front View of the saine. Fig. 3 is a crosssectionshowing the arrangement of the internal pipes to admit and exhaust thesteam. Figs. 4 and 5 represent different arrangements of the internalpipes, ttc.

The nature of my improvement consistsin constructing a rotary cylinderinsuch a manner that a current of steam can be admitted into the cylinder,entering t-he saine at the bottom under the suds and clothing andescaping again at the upper part while the cylinder is in motion orstationary, and a current of hot or cold water or steam can be admittedinto the cylinder above the clothing and escape at the lower part of thecylinder while in motion or stationary. By this operation the steamafter heat-ing the water or suds to 212o rises to the top and lls theupper part of the cylinder with steam saturated with alkalineproperties, at the same time raising the clothing into the upper part ofthe cylinder and expanding the fibers of the fabric. The motion of thecylinder changes the position of the clothing in such a manner that itis alternately in steam and suds. The steam while expanding .the fibersof the fabric (just what a Woman rubs the clothing for) allows thealkaline properties of the suds toneutralize the oily or vegetableparticles of matter which hold the dirt to the fabric, when the samerinses off without any pressure, friction, or rubbing, and by letting insteam over the clothing after it is washed the dirty suds can be forcedout at the bot- Patent No. 14,818, dated May 6, 1856.

tom, thereby saving the time necessary forit to run out, and moreeftectually carries 0E the impurities, and by the arrangement of lettingin hot water at the top of the cylinder over the clothing and out underit while the cylinder is in motion, the clothing without being removedis thoroughly rinsed as well as washed in the saine machine. By thisprocess any quantity of clothing (the number of pieces depending uponthe size of the apparatus) can be washed and rinsed in from ten tofifteen minutes without theleast injury to the fabric.

For all diseased clothing this machine is invaluable. The constantescapes of steam through the fabric carries off all the volatile matter,so that the clothes, no matter how much they may be filled withcontagion, after being washed in this machine are asthoroughly purifiedas when new.

Similar letters represent the same parts in all the figures.

A is the washing-cylinder, made of wood or any other material, withprojections a on the inside to change the position of the cloth- 1ng.

B is a frame screwed on the front of the cylinder and constituting thefront axle, as well as the frame for the door O, through which theclothes are put in and taken out of the cylinder. This door is fastenedby screws or springs and made tight by packing round the edge.

D are small valves inserted into the wood in the front of the machinewith strainers on the inside, or they may be placed on the outsideperiphery of the cylinder, entering into the pipe F, which willconstitute the strainer, and they may be made to open and shut by therevolving of the cylinder.

E is a frame screwed on the back endof the cylinder and constituting'the back axle, said axle being made hollow to allow a pipe to passthrough.

F are perforated pipes fastened to the inside of the cylinder, andthrough which the steam or hot or cold water are let into the cylinderand the waste steam escapes.

Gis a pipe, passing through the hollow back axle, made conical on theinside, and upon which said conical part the pipes F are iitted. Thispipe is divided into two parts and the conical part has two openingscorresponding with the openings of the upper and lower pipes F. In thelower part of the pipe G a pipe O is screwed in to admit steam from aboiler and into the lower pipe F. In the upper part of the pipe G a pipeis screwed, into which the pipes K, I, and L are connected. Consequentlythe waste steam can escape through the upper pipes F and through theupper part of the pipe G and the pipe L, or hot or cold water can be letinto the cylinder through the pipes K or I, respectively, and throughthe upper pipes F, and by connecting the steam-pipe C with pipes K, I,or L with stop-cock, the steam may be let in at the top through pipe Fand out at the bottom through valve D.

H is a bracket screwed on the main frame and fastened to the pipe G toprevent the latter -from turning while the cylinder is in motion.

L is a pipe leading the escape steam from the cylinder to thesteam-condensing apparatus M, or anywhere else it may be desired.

K is a pipe connected with the hot water.

I is a pipe connected with the cold water.

T is a tub covering the lower half of the front of the machine, providedwith the door C, corresponding with the door C in the cylinder, andsufficiently large to allow the latter to open through it when theclothes are required to be taken out. This tub has a pipe p at one sideleading to the sewer, provided with a valve, by which the dirty suds orwater are let off, and a communication is made with a lower cistern,likewise provided with a valve to collect the clean suds.

V is a cistern, placed under the tub T and provided with a waste-pipeand valve at the bottom leading into the sewer.

W is the main framing which supports the cylinder.

M is a steam-condensing apparatus consisting of a vessel or cistern withpartition a dividing one-third of the depth of said cistern into twoapartments united with each other under plate t).

c is a ball-cock by which the cistern is kept supplied with cold water afew inches above the plate b.

d is a vacuum-valve, which will supply the steam-chamber with air wherea vacuum is created and prevent the water going up pipe L.

Eis a waste-pipe. The water in this cistern will be more or lesssaturated with alkaline properties, and after washing clothing not muchsoiled can be pumped into the machine.

Instead of arranging the pipes which admit Athe steam or water, andthrough which the waste steam escapes, as above described, the same maybe made as represented in Fig. 4, in which case a pipe divided in fourparts is cast on or attached to the frame E, projecting partly into thecylinder A, and to which the pipes F are firmly attached. That part ofthe pipe projecting outward forms then at the same time the back axle ofthe cylinder and receives at its end a fou r-way valve m on a slide, andwhich said valve is held stationary by the bracket II. The steam-pipe Cand the pipe to which the exhaust-steam pipe L, as well as the hot andcold water pipes I and K, are connected are in that case attached orscrewed into the valve m in such a manner that the steam shall alwaysenter the lower pipe F,while the escape-steam escapes through the upperpipe F, or warm or cold water or steam can be let into the cylinderthrough the latter.

Instead of arranging the pipes F as represented in Figs. 2 and 3, inwhich case the same are fastened to the inside of the cylinder A andturn round the pipe G, the same maybe made fast to the pipe G, as shownin Fig. 5, where only two pipes are required, one standing upward andthe other downward, and being fast to the pipe G are held in thatposition through the bracket H. Those pipes are in that case protectedby the screen N.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: I-lalf fill the cylinderwith hot water through the pipes K, G, and F and putin soap or any otheralkaline preparation sufficient to make a good suds, and then put theclothing in the cylinder, close the door C tight, let in steam throughthe pipe O, open the escape-steam pipe, and set the machine in motion.In about ten minutes time shut the steam otf again, close theescape-steam pipe L, open the valves D in front of the machine, and letout the dirty suds into the tub T and out of the same through the pipe pinto the sewer. Now open the valves or cocks in the pipe K and let inwarm water, and then through the pipe I clean cold water until it runsout clear through the valves D. Then stop the machine with the door Cdownward and opposite the door C', when the clothing can be taken outand will be found both washed and rinsed and perfectly clean.

To prevent the clothing from getting twisted, the motion of this machineis so arranged that the cylinder turns several times one way and thenthe same number of times the other way, reversing its own motion.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The construction of a rotary cylinder in connection with internal andexternal pipes, arranged in such a manner that through said pipes steamcan always be let into the lower part of the cylinder and escape at thetop while the cylinder is in motion or stationary, and that by the samearrangement hot water, cold water, or steam can be let into the cylinderat the top and escape at the bottom while said cylinder is in motion orstationary.

JAMES 'l`. KING.

I'Vitnesses:

J. H. CoNsELYEA, E. BENJAMIN.

